Tap bolt and operating cap therefor



March 4 1924. 1,485,491

R. Z. DRAKE TAP BOLT A ND OPERATING CAP THEREFOR Filed Oct. 2, 1922 2Sheets-Sheet 1 ma/wtoz 305m 2. 1m ke.

Patented Mar. 4,

nonnm: z. DRAKE, or mm, NEBRASKA.

TAP BOLT AND OPERATING CAP THEREFOR.

Application filed October 2, 1922. Serial No. 591,730.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT Z. DRAKE, a citizen of the United States,residin at Omaha, in the county of Douglas and tate of Nebraska, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in a Tap Bolt and OperatingCap Therefor, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a threaded bolt and a driver-cap thereforfound to be particularly useful in bridge building, and usefulspecifically for securing planks to beams, girders or similar supports,and includes among other objects, the provision of a mounting ofgreaterfirmness and solidity than usual for the planks on said supports,so that vibration of parts will be practically eliminated, theparticular means for.mounting the planks being attended with less ex-Jense and adapted to be more quickly and conveniently performed thanordinary. Another object is to provide such a construction that repairwork may be conveniently done and that workmen may operate while aboveinstead of below the girders or beams,

either when building or repairing a bridge.

The invent-ion also includes the provision of incising elements for theheads of the bolts, to facilitate countersinking in the planks, theshanks of the bolts having greater diameter than the threaded partsto,facilitate operation when securing the planks to the beams on girders,and formed non-concentric with the threaded parts to cause a sidewisemovement or crowding of the plank to form a complete roadway. lVhileuseful in connection with bridge construction, the device, of course,may be em- .ployed for other purposes.

With the above objects in view and others to be mentioned, the inventionpresents a novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts asdescribed herein and claimed, and as illustrated in the panyingdrawings, wherein,-

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a tap-bolt. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of thesame. Fig. 3 is a side view of the tap-bolt. Fig. 4

is a plan view of a driver-cap for the tap bolt. F ig. 5 is a bottomplan view of the driver-cap. Fig. 6 isa side view of the driver-cap, apartof a tap-bolt also being shown partly in section. Fig. 7 illustratesa plank supported by and secured to a beam or girder by use of thetap-bolts. Fig. 8

' illustrates .a plurality of beams or-girders accomand a plank securedthereto by use of the tapbolts. a

Fig. 9 is a broken plan view showing planks secured to gir ers. Figs. 10and 11 show modified forms for thebolts- Fig. 10 is a side view of abolt having a threaded part concentric with and of lesser diameter thanits shank. Fig. 11 illustrates a bolt having a shank non-concentric withits threaded p'art. Fig. 12 is a view, artly in section, showing a partof a gir er in side elevation with planks secured thereon by use of thethreaded bolts. Fig. 13 shows a modified form for a bolt-head.

Referring now to the drawing, the invention, for convenience, is shownand described in connection with metallic beams or girders 10 whichsupport the planks 11 of a' bridge, but the invention is adapted for usein connection with beams or girders constructed of wood or othersuitable material. In order that the advantages above mentioned may bederived, I provide a. tapbolt 12,'its head a, being of disc-form andhaving peripheral recesses 6 opening, on its top and bottom, asecondaryrecess 0 being formed in one of the walls of each recess b to open onthe bottom of the head a, and segmental recesses or depressions e beingprovidedwhich also open on'the bottom of the head, each recess e openingon a recess 6 and having an inclined wall extending from a recess 1) toa recess a to form a cutting edge f extending diametri gallly from arecess 6 to the shank on the o V While in'the drawing, I have shown fourrecesses b together with four depressions e and four blades or edges 7'the particular number of the parts is not important, and they may begreater or less, dependin upon the kinds of plank employed and w etherthe threads are fine or coarse, for the bolts. It will be appreciatedthat if the bolts have threaded connections with the; beams or girdersor their flanges 13, suitable apertures 14 being formed'in the plank forreplanks and also that the bolts may be removed, I'provide a driver-capfor the tap-bolts its upper sidebeing provided with an angular head 16adapted to be' gripped by a wrench (not shown), the lower part of thecap being provided with lugs 17 corresponding in number to the recessesbof the disc-head a, each lug 17 being provided at its "free end with apair 0 opposed, horizontal catches or projections d the spacing andproportions of the recesses b being suchthat the lugs ofthe cap willreadily enter said recesses b when the cap is applied to the heads a forrotating the bolts.

In operation, a tap-bolt 12 being inserted in an aperture 14 to enter athreaded aperture of a girder or its flange 13, the cap is applied tothe head, a, and by use of a wrench, the ,cap, together with the bolt,may be rotated. The parts are so proportioned that each lug 17 willengage afiside wall of a recess 1) when the cap is rotated for moving abolt, and therefore the stresses directed to the head a will besustained by i the lugs coincidently and uniformly, this being a featurerelating to durability, since 'liability'to breakage of any of the lugs17 will be reduced to a minimum. In practice,

the tap-bolt may be'rotated until its head a will become countersunk,the blades .or edges 7 operating to cut the fiber of the plankregardless of its density or hardened condition, to permitcountersinking.

By referring to Fig. 2 it will be seen that each blade 7 extendsradially to a re cess 0, each recess 0 having a side wall as shown inFigs. 2, 3 and 6 obviously operating as a blade since it terminates atthe bottom of the bolts head the same, in this respect, ascthetermination-of a blade f, and while the side walls of recesses c are notdisposed radially of the bolts head they are each disposed in the planeof a'blade f, and are adapted to cut into the wood when the bolt 'isrotated.

Itwill -be understood; of course," that chips'or shavings, cut by theblades, will move in lines of least,- resistance, and' since thedepressions or recesses e areformed outwardly divergent and with theirgreater area at the periphery of a bolthead, the chips, duringoperation, will move outwardly toward the recesses b.

By use of the cap 15, the bolts maybe readily removed from the planksand from the "beams or girders, this being a matter of convenience inthe work of removing planks when they require replacement. During theoperation of rotating a, bolt, the cap will. not readily become detachedfrom the head (1 since one of the projections d of each lug 17 mayengage ina recess 0 or in a recess 6, this being a matter of importancedurin operation, for otherwise the cap might lrecome detached from thebolt. Also the tap-bolts, in some instances may be inverted ormay bedisposed in a horizontal or inclined position,

and the projections d for engaging in re- 'cesses c or e, as mentioned,permits opera:

tion regardless of the inclination of the tap-bolts.

Figs. 10, 11 and 12 illustrate modified forms for the bolts, consideredto be within the scope of the invention, the bolt indicated at 18 Ihaving its body or shank g, threaded part h and disc-head a formedconcentric with its axis mw, the threaded part b, however, having alesser diameter than the diameter of the shank, one of the advantages inthe use of this bolt being i that, in instances vwhere the apertures inthe plank have, comparatively, a greater diameter than ordinary, theupper part 9 of the bolt may fill the aperture 0 (Fig. 12) in a mannerto prevent water from entering therein; also the threaded terminal ofthe bolt,'if of adequate length,- may be conv'eniently inserted in theaperture of the beam or girder in instances when the apergree ofexactness, with the aperture of a beam or girder.

The bolt. indicated at 19 has a body or shank g disposed with its axisz-z nonconcentric with the axis 8-8 of its threaded part m and head a,the threaded part m having a lesser diameter than the body portion 9',the advantage in the use of said bolt being that it will operate to movethe plank sidewise when rotated in the aperture it, its threadedpartbeing in engage- 'ment with the-beam or girder, the sidewise movement ofthe, plank operating to crowd or press it against the edge of a plankadjacent thereto, to form a more complete roadway in instances when theplank is in a buckled or, warped condition, or when the aperture k ofthe plank and aperture n of the beam. or girder do not align withexactness, when the plank is placed on the girder. 1

By use of-the invention, the planks will remain firmly connected withthe beams or girders The heads of the bolts will not project above thesurface of the roadway to cause injury. Also when the .planks become'worn, the boltsmay be lowered,

ture of a plank does not register, in :a deister with exactness with thecenter line of the apertures k of the planks.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Fig. 13, the inclineddepressions or recesses e are the same as already described, the cuttingedges or the blades f, however, extending completely to the lower sideof a.bolt-head a, a secondary recess 0' being provided in the wall ofthe recess 6 to permit engagement therein of a projection d of the cap15, this modified form being considered clearly within the scope ofthe'invention since the function for the secondary recesses 0 and c areidentical, and it is not important which side of the recesses b thesecondary recesses c and c are located, the function to be discharged bythese recesses being simply to operate as detaining elements, so that,during operation, the cap 15 will not become accidentally detached fromthe bolt-head. Also it will be noted that the upper, inclined walls ofrecesses e may discharge the-same function as recesses c or c.

.I claim as my invention,--

1. In devices for the purpose described, the combination with a bolthaving a head provided with peripheral recesses, said headbeing providedon its inner side with secondary recesses each opening on a peripheralrecess and with radially disposed blades each extending from the shankto terminate in a recess, the side wall of each secondary recessproviding a second blade disposed in the plane of a first named blade,of a revoluble cap having lugs provided with projections, the combinedwidths of each lug and its projections being less than the width of aperipheral recess to permit said cap to be disposed with its lugsengaging in the peripheral recesses with one of its projections engagingin a secondary recess of said head.

2. In devices for the purpose described, the combination with a bolthaving a threaded terminal and having a head circular in plan providedwith peripheral recesses opening on its top and bottom, each recesshaving a terminal wall between said periphery and center of said headand one of the walls of each peripheral recess having a secondary recessopening thereon, of a rotatable cap having lugs provided withprojections, said cap being adapted to be disposed with its bottomengaging the top of said head with its lugs engagmg in the peripheralrecesses of saldhead, a projection of each lug engaging in a secondaryrecess thereof, the combined widths of each lug and its projectionsbeing less than the width of a peripheral recess.

3. In devices for the purpose described, the

wall of each secondary recess providing a second blade disposed in'theplane of a first named blade, of a rotatable cap having lugs projectingfrom its inner side, each lug'being provided with a projection, thecombined widths of eachvlug and its projection being less than the widthof a peripheral recess to permit the lugs -to be insertedin saidperipheral recesses for engagement of the projections in said secondaryrecesses. 4. In devices for the purpose described, the combination witha bolt havin a head of disc-form provided in its perip cry with a recessand a second recess opening on the first named recess, of a revolublecap having a head formed angular in plan and having anlug provided witha projection and adapted to be disposed with its lug engaging in the I 4first named recess, the pro ection of said lug engaging in the secondrecess, the combined widths of the lug and its projection being lessthan the width of said first named recess. 5. In devices for the purposedescribed,a cap provided with a head angular in plan and having a lugprovided with a projection and extending from its bottom, abolt having athreaded terminal and having head circular in plan provided in its inner'sidewith radially disposed blades and having a recess opening on itstop and bottom for receiving the lugof the cap and having a secondrecess opening on the first named recess for receiving the projection ofsaid lug, the side wall of the second recess providing a blade disposedin the plane of the first named blades, the combined widths of said lugand its projection-being lessthan the width of said first named recess.

In testimony whereof, I have aflixed my 10 signature in presence of twowitnesses.

- ROBERT Z; DRAKE. Witnesses:

HIRAM A. Srunens, ARTHUR H, Srunens.

